Ex-minister John Whittingdale warns Press bill would’ve muzzled papers on Oxfam sex scandal

DRACONIAN laws to muzzle the Press would have made it impossible to expose the Oxfam sex abuse scandal, a former minister has warned.

Ex-Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said the House of Lords has “hijacked” data protection legislation to be debated in the Commons today.

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He said the Lords want to include amendments which would threaten the freedom of the Press.

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The proposals would set up a new Leveson-style inquiry and force publishers that refuse to accept state regulation to pay the costs of legal actions, even if the claims are struck out.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Whittingdale called the proposals deeply damaging and draconian.

The Tory MP added: “It would make investigations such as those into the Oxfam scandal impossible to publish.”

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